This baby is being delivered Via c section, you can see baby’s hair through the intact membranes under the vessels. My eyes and brain are hurting trying to figure out how the heck the vessels are on the outside of the membranes on the maternal side. With no Wharton’s Jelly to protect the vessels and their location in the membranes these vessels are at risk of being compressed or ruptured. This is truely a very special birth
@humanbirthproject posts: “What you are seeing is a unique view of a Vasa Previa in a c-section birth. The baby is emerging from the belly, but the vessels run across the membranes. Vasa previa is a condition in which fetal blood vessels of cord are exposed (without the protective wharton jelly), and the vessels cover the cervical os or exit. This makes vaginal birth extremely risky. The baby’s head exit can compress and/or rupture the vessels during a vaginal birth. The incidence of VP is very low but if detected at the 20 weeks ultrasound, it should be closely followed. If the vessels do not clear of out the way, a c-section birth is the only alternative.
This woman underwent a scheduled cesarean delivery at 34 weeks of gestation. Read more at: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMicm1808778?query=TOC&fbclid=IwAR1l_ieW8PduTu_0lrEVq-r4c5Sz7avUYc1AyAxw279TsdTVfnyYnw_Migg” 📹: @fertilugo
This is one of many times we must be grateful for life saving medical and surgical interventions.
Has anyone had an experience with a vasa previa? Please feel free to tell us about it.